Close-up view of the Soyuz FG-Fregat vehicle

Close-up view of the Soyuz FG-Fregat vehicle carrying Mars Express, ESA's first probe to the Red Planet, during final preparation for launch on complex no.31, in Baikonour, Kazakhstan. The logos of three of the four parent entities of Starsem, the Euro-Russian joint-venture providing the launch, are visible on the vehicle's second stage (the four lateral boosters are counted as the "first stage" in the Russian terminology). These are the Samara Space Center (top), Arianespace (left) and the Russian aerospace agency Rosaviakosmos (right).